Derrick Soellner gave the Tyrone Golden Eagles an early lead with a three-run home run that pitcher Tyler Gillmen never relinquished. Gillmen went the distance on the mound allowing only three hits in an 11-4 Tyrone victory.
Gillmen\’s toughest inning was the first. Paul Keith led off with an infield single, stole second and moved to third on a ground out. Brandon Murarik reached on a bunt, and when he attempted to steal second and the ball was thrown into the outfield, Keith scored. P.J. Keith grounded out to move Murarik to third, and a wild pitch on an 0-2 count brought home the second run of the inning. Gillmen got out of further trouble by fielding a grounder and throwing out Moshannon Valley\’s hurler Nathan Pataky.
Tyrone struck back in the bottom of the frame with a mix of wildness and power. Brice Mertiff led off the inning with a walk before Brit Mingle was hit by a pitch. A ground out moved up both runners before Soellner crushed the first strike he saw over the centerfield fence to give the Golden Eagles a 3-2 advantage. Gillmen followed the home run by drawing a walk but was thrown out trying to steal second. Ben Gummo became the second hit by pitch victim of the inning before Pataky escaped the frame with a strikeout.
Gillmen retired the side in order in the top of the second, and Tyrone added another run in the bottom of the inning on a two-out double by Mingle that scored Tyler Golden.
With one out in the third, Paul Keith got a rally started for Moshannon Valley with his second single of the game, and he moved to third when Andrew Mills reached second base on an error. Gillmen escaped the mess by striking out the next two batters.
Wildness lead to a fifth run for the Golden Eagles in the fifth inning when Gummo walked, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch.
A two-out single by Mills and a Tyrone error helped Moshannon Valley pull back within two runs in the fifth inning.
However, Tyrone pulled away in the bottom of the inning. Mingle led off with a single and moved to second on a Clint Wilson base hit. After a fly out, Gillmen helped his own cause with an RBI double before Gummo walked to load the bases for Buddy Stotler. Stotler hit a bouncing ball to third that was thrown over the catcher\’s head in an attempt to cut off the lead runner heading home. This allowed both Wilson and Gillmen to score before catcher Andrew Mills attempted to throw out Stotler advancing to second on the play. The throw sailed into the outfield allowing Gummo to score and Stotler to find himself at third base. Josh Clark brought in Stotler with a single before being erased on a fielder\’s choice hit by Golden. Tyrone added their final run of the game thanks to an error that allowed Golden to score from second.
“It was a matter of time before we had a big inning. We are an aggressive team and offense is our strength,” Tyrone head coach Tommy Coleman said.
Paul Keith reached base on an error and scored later in the inning on a double steal to cut the Tyrone lead to 11-4, but Moshannon Valley could inch no closer as Gillmen got P.J. Keith to fly out to end the game.
“Tyler was in command of all his pitches and was aggressive going after batters,” Coleman said of his hurler.
Tyrone has now won three games in a row and will look to extend that streak with games against Mount Union and West Branch next week.
Tyrone Area 11 Moshannon Valley 4
MOSHANNON VALLEY – Pa. Keith, ss, 4-2-2; Mills, c, 4-1-1; Murarik, lf, 3-1-0; P.J. Keith, cf, 3-0-0; Pataky, p-3b, 3-0-0; Kephart, 1b, 2-0-0; Zeigler, rf, 3-0-0; Dixon, rf, 0-0-0; Whited, 3b, 2-0-0; Miles, p, 0-0-0; Zapsky, ph, 1-0-0; Dombrosky, 2b, 3-0-0. TOTALS 28-4-3.
TYRONE AREA – Mertiff, ss, 3-1-0; Mingle, rf, 3-2-2; Wilson, 1b, 4-1-1; Maceno, pr, 0-0-0; Soellner, c, 4-1 2; Myers, cr, 0-0-0; Gillmen, p, 3-1-1; Gummo, 2b, 1-2-0; Stotler, dh, 3-1-0; Levinson, lf, 0-0-0; Clark, 2-0 2; Golden, 3b, 3-2-0. TOTALS 26-11-8.
Moshannon Valley 200 010 1 4-3-4
Tyrone Area 310 160 X 11-8-4
HR: Soellner 1.
2B: Mingle 1, Gillmen 1.
RBI: Soellner 3, Clark 1, Gillmen 1, Mingle 1.
SO: Gillmen 6, Pataky 4.
BB: Pataky 4, Gillmen 2.
WP: Gillmen LP: Pataky.
